Forever holds no guarantee
by Vegetas-Princess
Summary: [On Hiatus]BulmaTien ficcie. After a lifetime of heartaches, can these unlikely lovers overcome the obstacles in their way, and find happiness with one another? Chapter two, up and running :D
1. Chapter One

_"Why can't this last forever?"_

_"Because forever holds no guarantee...."_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

The soft fall of footsteps could be heard, faintly echoing off of the plaster walls of Capsule Corporation. Four grown men could be seen creeping stealthily down the hallway, none daring to utter even a single syllable, for fear of waking the monster that was currently sleeping in the next room. 

They could see the kitchen, and the back door, from where they stood... Just a few more steps, and they'd be home free.. A few more steps and they could escape imprisonment....

"And where, pray tell, do you think you're going?" A feminine voice asked as they entered the room.

The world's strongest fighters did the only thing they could do.

They screamed.

Yamcha was the first to regain composure, and also the first to try to use reasoning to control their angry captor.

"Bulma, please.. Y..You know we have to go train!" He began, but was quickly cut off by his, rather unhappy girlfriend.

"I understand you need to train, and I've already told you I don't have a problem with that. But the last time you four ran off together, you were all in the hospital for over a week. I just wanna go along with you. That way, if anyone needs serious help, I can at least do SOMETHING."

Tien, Yamcha, Goku, and Krillin all dropped their heads at the mention of their last sparring session. It HAD been a disaster... 

"But Bulma... What if you get hurt?." Goku tried to protest, but his attempt was as futile as the other had been. He was silenced by nothing more than a raised hand.

"I don't wanna hear it. You either take me along, or you don't go." She replied, her anger evident on her face.

"Bulma, I don't mean to sound rude or anything.. But, be honest.. What makes you think you could stop us?" Krillin asked, for once, seemingly unafraid of the blue haired woman.

"Oh, I don't think I'll be able to stop you on my own.. That's why I recruited a little bit of help." With that said, she motioned to the doorway behind them, where what had been called the fiercest woman on Earth stood.

"C....chichi?!?" All four men exclaimed at once, before backing up a couple of paces.

"Don't Chichi me, you imbeciles. I've sat here and listened to you rant and rave for long enough. If Bulma says she's going with you, she's going with you. That's final.. End of discussion.... Finito.. Finished.. Done.. Caputted... OVER. Any objections?" She asked, her voice having changed from venomous to soft. Yamcha had just opened his mouth, before he noticed her grab her trademark frying pan off of the counter beside her.

He closed his mouth again.

The men relented quickly, albeit a bit reluctantly. To be honest, it wasn't because Bulma might get hurt that they didn't want her to go, or even because she'd be in the way. There were some things that even THEY knew shouldn't be said in front of a woman.. And most of what they said on their little sparring trips fell under that category.

"Good, I'm glad we've reached an agreement." Bulma stated happily, before hopping down from where she'd been seated on the kitchen counter

"Yeah, Bulma.. you win.. Why don't you go upstairs and grab your stuff?" Tien asked, in what was, truthfully, a last ditch effort to escape the two women.

"Wow, I bet you guys would just LOVE that, wouldn't you? Too bad though, I'm already packed." She replied smugly, as she held up a capsule.

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" Yamcha asked, dejectedly.

"I have. And I'm going."

"And just how, pray tell, are you planning on getting there? It's too far for one of your little planes to carry you, you know." Yamcha continued, the only one of the group who was still hopeful that she'd stay behind.

"I have my ways."

"If you think I'm carrying you all that way, you're sadly mistaken."

"Fine then. Be that way, but I hope you enjoy sleeping alone." She replied with a smirk, before turning to face the rest of the group. "Krillin..."

"Sorry Bulma, can't help you. I've gotta carry supplies. Besides, I'm short.. You'd be uncomfortable if I carried you." The bald man replied, hopeful they'd finally figured out a way to dissuade the woman.

"Ugh!!" She cried, before turning to face Goku. She never opened her mouth to speak, however, the death glare she received from Chichi being more than enough warning for her. "Well, that leaves Tien... And I'm assuming you've got some strange excuse as to why I can't fly with you too, huh?"

Tien glanced nervously around the room for a moment, noting the pleading glances from the others. He tried to will his mind to lie, tried to get it to work.. 

But it refused.

"No, I don't have one. I'll carry you, Bulma."

The others let out a collective groan.

"Hi, people… Do I need to remind you that I'm standing right here? You could at least wait until I'm out of the room to start your whining!" She berated, before finally giving a little sigh. "Look, guys… I know you've got this whole male bonding thing going on here.. But you're my friends! I worry about you!" She tried to explain, but the looks on their faces showed her that they were way past the point of joking. "I'll make a deal with you… I'll go along for a week. If it doesn't look like you need my help, I'll come back, and you'll still have the remaining week all to yourselves."  
  
Their faces all brightened significantly then.  
  
"Wow, Bulma.. You'd do that for us?" Yamcha asked, suddenly in a much better mood than before.  
  
"Not for you, Mr. I Can't carry my own girlfriend. I asked for your help, and you refused… As far as I'm concerned, you can blow yourself up." She replied smugly, before placing a small, dainty hand on Tien's arm.  
  
"Ready?" She asked softly, before casting a heated look over to her boyfriend.  
  
"As I'll ever be, I'm afraid." Tien answered, before pulling the blue haired woman into his chest.

Yamcha moved to protest, to tell Bulma that he'd changed his mind, but she must have seen it coming from a mile away.  
  
"I gave you fair warning, Yamcha… Besides, I'm sure Tien can keep his hands to himself." She said with a laugh, before punching the man in question lightly in the arm. Tien merely blushed slightly.  
  
She could have sworn she heard Yamcha mumble something along the lines of "He'd better..." But before she could question him on it, she found herself to be no longer in her nice, warm, kitchen, but instead in the not so nice, cold, early morning sky.  
  
"How bout a little warning next time?" She mumbled, before grasping more tightly to Tien's neck.  
  
"Hey, YOU were the one that wanted to come. I'm merely an innocent bystander in all of this." He replied with a grin, before casting a glance over his shoulder to Yamcha, who was at the moment shooting him as dirty a look as possible.  
  
"I could be mistaken, but I don't get the feeling Yamcha likes this." He told her, before motioning over his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, well, that's his problem... HE was the one that said he wouldn't carry ME, remember? Besides, what's there to be jealous of? It's not like I'm gonna run off with you." She replied with a smile, before looking once more over Tien's shoulder.  
  
Yamcha REALLY didn't look happy.  
  
Just as she was about to make a rather obscene gesture to her boyfriend, her support seemed to drop out from under her. She let out a tiny shriek as she, seemingly, plummeted to the ground.  
  
"Yeesh, calm down. We're here. I have to land." Tien answered, before situating her safely on her feet.  
  
It was all Bulma could do to keep from bending down and planting a firm kiss on the rocky terrain.  
  
"So, my little ships wouldn't be able to make it, huh?" She asked the group, rather accusingly.  
  
"Last ditch effort." Yamcha replied with a shrug, before plopping down in a shady spot under a tree.  
  
"Look, Yamcha, I don't know what crawled up your ass and died... But get over it. Because I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit here and deal with it." She snapped, before turning on her heel and stalking away, angrily.  
  
"Man, Yamcha… Lighten up on her. She's just here because she worries, that's all. To be honest, I don't even think she WANTS to be here… It's just something she feels like she needs to do. You're lucky to have her." Krillin said, the telltale signs of sadness playing around his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, well then, YOU try living with her." The other man grumbled, before standing, and dusting off the seat of his pants. "I just don't know why she doesn't trust us enough to stay out here alone. We've been doing this for years! Why does she feel she needs to prove something now?"  
  
"Look, whatever, ok? It doesn't matter what she's doing here. That's in the past. I, personally, came here to train, and that's what I intend to do. So, if you ladies are done bickering amongst yourselves, let's get started." Goku cut in with a smirk, before falling back into a fighting stance.  


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Hey guys! I know, nothing's really happening yet, but I wanna see if there's really gonna be anyone interested in this fic before I put bunches and bunches of it up. Sooo.. lemme know what you think, good or bad, kk?

Also, if anyone wants to be added to the mailing list, just email this little addy right here Vegetas-Princess-Update-List-Subscribe@topica.com

Lovies!

~*VP*~


	2. Chapter Two

Forever holds no guarantee  
  
Chapter Two  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The night air was chilly, and Bulma was literally shivering from the cold. To go sit beside the fire would have been easy.. had it not been for her pride.  
  
Pride prevented her from walking over to the group, and joining them in their laughter, food, and warmth.  
  
She would have had no qualms about it, however, had it not been for the fact that Yamcha had made a snide comment earlier about her being useless, and a simple waste of space.  
  
A lone tear burned its way down her cheek at the remembrance of their fight earlier.  
  
For the first time that day, Bulma actually began to wish she'd never come along, that she was, instead, at home, safe and snug in her own bed. No such luck, however. The closest she could get to home was the small capsule house that she currently held in her pocket.  
  
There was no way she was even REMOTELY going to open it, however. If Yamcha thought she was useless now.. There was no telling what he'd think of her then.  
  
"Not hungry?" A voice from behind asked her, sending her whirling around to face them.  
  
"Oh.. Tien.. It's you. Sorry, I thought you were... never mind."  
  
"Yamcha's sleeping." He answered simply, before taking a seat beside her.  
  
"What makes you think I was talking about Yamcha?"  
  
"Well, it could have been the fact that you've been fighting with him all day."  
  
Bulma chuckled in reply. "That's actually ALL we do." Her voice saddened then, but she gave a sigh and brushed it away.  
  
"You know, if you want, you can go back to the house tonight, and I can come get you in the morning." Tien offered, upon noticing the slight tremors that coursed through Bulma's body.  
  
"I've actually got a capsule house with me.. But with the way Yamcha's been riding me today, I'm not sure I'm gonna use it."

  
"Well, it's gonna get pretty cold tonight, so you might wanna reconsider. You're not gonna do anyone any good if you're sick. Especially yourself."  
  
She nodded in agreement.  
  
"In the meantime, why don't you come sit with us? There's plenty of food.. Provided Son hasn't eaten it all, of course." He told her with a little smile, before standing, and helping her up.  
  
"k..." Was the only reply she gave, before allowing him to lead her to the warmth of the fire.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Late that night, or early that morning, whichever term you preferred, Bulma Briefs could be found digging quietly through the pocket of her jeans, finally determined to swallow her pride and use the capsule house. The others would just have to deal, and accept the fact that she wasn't a great warrior of some kind, and that freezing to death didn't appeal to her. She gave a triumphant cry when she found what she was searching for, before remembering that she was supposed to be quiet. She clamped a hand tightly over her mouth, before giving quick glance over to where Yamcha was, supposedly sleeping.  
  
Needless to say, he wasn't anymore.  
  
"Figured you'd need to resort to something like that."  
  
Bulma groaned.  
  
"Bulma.. if you didn't want to brave the wilderness with the guys, then why come brave the wilderness with the guys?"  
  
"Yamcha, I'm here to make sure everything's ok with you guys. I'm not here to "brave the wilderness." I just wanted to make sure the people I cared about stayed healthy. And ALIVE."  
  
"Don't give me that, Bulma. You could care less what happens to us. You're here to secure your place in the group.  
  
"What in hell's name are you talking about, Yamcha? I'm here because you're my friends. I'm here because I want to make sure everything's ok with you all."  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure that's it. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that you've noticed the fact that people could care less what's going on in your pathetic little life anymore. That they've grown up, and don't need big sister Bulma watching over them anymore."  
  
"I'm here because I care about every single one of you, Yamcha. Not because I'm not needed. Granted, I know as well as anyone that no one wants me here. But at least some people are trying to make it bearable."  
  
"Maybe it's because those people can still stand you, Bulma. I mean, think about it. How many of these people do you actually see on a day to day basis? None, with the exception of me."  
  
For what might have been the first time in her life, Bulma Briefs held her tongue, and let Yamcha finish.  
  
"And do you know why that is?"  
  
She merely shook her head no, fresh tears blurring her vision.  
  
"Because they can't stand you, that's why. Because you bitch, whine, moan and complain about everything. You overstep boundaries that aren't yours to overstep, and you cross lines that you have no business crossing."  
  
It took Bulma a moment to calm her voice, but when she did, her words came out more as a hiss than anything else. "And I suppose this is the way you feel too, right? Because, while the others may not like me, I don't think they actually hate me. Actually, until right now, I didn't know that you did, either. How long have you felt like this?"  
  
"Don't try to turn this around on me, Bulma. You know as well as..."  
  
"HOW LONG?" She interrupted, her voice cold and unforgiving.  
  
"What's it matter? When have you ever cared how I felt before? I really don't see any reason you should start now."  
  
"You're right, it doesn't matter." She replied, before tossing the capsule to him, and heading off in the seperate direction of the campsite.  
  
"I'd be careful how far off you wander. With no friends, who's gonna come looking for you?" Yamcha called after her, before wincing and moving to follow.  
  
Maybe he'd gone a little overboard.  
  
Suddenly, he stopped walking, and gave a short chuckle. Well, she'd wanted the wilderness. There really wasn't anything that could happen to her in one night. The guys would wake up in the morning, and assume she headed home, so they'd go to find her.  
  
Yamcha would let her have her one night of solitude.  
  
With any luck, maybe she'd be so terrified in the morning that she'd WANT to go home.  
  
And that, could NEVER be a bad thing.  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
If Bulma had thought she was cold before, then now, she'd been dipped in liquid nitrogen.  
  
But, the cold seemed to be getting better now, it wasn't as bitter.  
  
Then again, it could've had something to do with the fact that she could no longer feel her legs.  
  
Actually, she couldn't feel her arms either.  
  
"Oh great.. Throw a fit, why don't you, Bulma? Idiot.. next time you decide to walk of into the woods, alone, in the freezing night, at least take the kami forsaken capsule WITH you! But noooo.. I just had to be an idiot, and let mr. moron get me so upset that I'll probably freeze to death, and no one's gonna come looking for me. And I'll sit here and rot on the forest floor.. Or maybe I'll get eaten by a wolf. And of course, I won't be able to run because my whole body'll be completely numb." She rambled on endlessly for a few more moments, before finally plopping down under a tree and sobbing.  
  
Maybe Yamcha WAS right. She hardly ever saw any of the old group anymore. Goku included. And he had been one of her best friends.  
  
Maybe she had chased all of her friends away.  
  
She gave a quick sigh, before deciding that it was too much to worry about right now. She was too sleepy, and it was definitely less cold now.  
  
The thought of hypothermia never crossed the blue haired genius' mind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
At half past five, morning's light finally shined its light on the group of sleeping warriors. They cooked a quick breakfast, still completely unaware that one member was missing.  
  
It wasn't until after they'd finished eating that Goku glanced around, his face scrunched up in confusion. "Hey.. Where's Bulma?"  
  
Two of the men merely glanced around the campsite, much as Goku had done, before shrugging, and turning to the fourth warrior.  
  
"Hey, Yamcha, did you take Bulma home last night or something? I can't sense her anywhere around here." Krillin asked his friend.  
  
"I can't sense her either." Goku chimed in, before he too turned his attention back to the scarred fighter.  
  
Yamcha merely continued staring at the ground, his face contorted in what appeared to be a guilty frown. "We got into a fight last night, she got pissed, and walked off. I figured she'd come back.. but she didn't."  
  
"You let her go off, by herself, into the wilderness? Yamcha, what's wrong with you? That doesn't sound like something you'd do!" Krillin exclaimed, before blinking a couple times, and shrugging his shoulders. "Don't know why I'm shocked.. That actually sounds exactly like something you'd do."  
  
"Guess we should go find her, huh? She's probably not too far off." Tien spoke, before climbing to his feet. Something was nagging at his stomach though. If Bulma was nearby, as she should've been, then why couldn't he sense her? for that matter, why couldn't any of them sense her? Goku should have been able to feel something.  
  
"Yeah, we'll split up. Krillin, you head back to Capsule corp, see if anyone there's heard from her. Tien, you head North, I'll head south, and Yamcha, you search around here. Maybe she'll wander back in a few minutes."  
  
"Why should I stay here? I mean, it's not like she's a baby, I'm sure she'll be ok if left alone for a few minutes."  
  
"Have you even considered the fact that she didn't come back because she's hurt?" Tien snapped, before rolling his eyes and turning to take off. "Stay here, Yamcha. If she sees you, it's not going to put her in a happy mood."  
  
Yamcha moved to make a smart remark to Goku, but he too had gone in search of his missing friend.  
  
"Well, so much for the 'they hate Bulma' theory..." He stated to himself, before grabbing a magazine from his bag, and plopping down under a tree.  
  
She was probably just doing all of this for attention anyway, right?  
  
After all, what was the worst that could happen...?  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Omg! I can't even believe how long it's been since I updated! I'm such a moron! *sobs* can you forgive me? *sobs again*  
  
I really am sorry guys, and I realize there's not really a lot of B/T stuff going on, and it's also a rather short chapter, but I really felt the pressure to get this fic updated, so I went with what I had. I promise I'll make it up to you in the next update though, ok?  
  
That said.. if you don't hate me, and you wanna be added to the updated list, then just send a blank email (or you can write on it, if you like to talk to things like machines and whatnot) to Vegetas-Princess-Update-List-subscribe@topica.com   
  
Love ya all!  
  
~*Vegetas-Princess*~


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